Monday, January 6, 2014

My Review - Friends & Lovers Trilogy by Bethany Lopez

About the Books: Friends and Lovers Trilogy is a compilation of 3 stories written by Bethany Lopez: Make It Last, I Choose You and Trust In Me.

Make It Last

In a small town, it's hard to recover from being dumped by your high school sweetheart. That's just what Briana has to do after Colin leaves her to follow his dreams. She focuses her energy into her friendships and the pursuit of her own goal of becoming a chef. Just when she finally feels like she's on the right path, he comes back to town.

Colin knew breaking up with Briana before leaving for college was the right thing to do. He was determined to leave small-town life behind forever, and that included his high school girlfriend. But when a sports injury puts him on the sidelines, he's forced to return home. Seeing Briana again brings back a lot of memories, and Colin wonders if he made the right decision. It doesn't take long for him to realize he wants her back, and this time, he wants to make it last.

I Choose You

Up until now, Nicole's life has been mapped out for her. She'd go to college, marry Jake and become the upstanding minister's wife. When she leaves that life to begin again in a small town in Texas, she finally has the freedom to live as she chooses. There, she meets Kent, a guy whose charm and passion make it hard to stick to her morals.

Dodging his father’s fists and protecting his twin sister made Kent into the man he is today. He learned by watching his mother stay by his father’s side that it’s better to keep relationships simple. Then he meets Nicole. Her sweet smile and genuine response to him land like punches to his resolve. After a lifetime of learning to protect his heart, can he finally let down his guard?

Trust In Me

Roni’s dreams of becoming a contemporary dancer were smashed under the brutal rage of her ex-husband's fists. Getting divorced and starting over at the age of twenty-two was never her plan, but maybe in Texas, she'll find her path. When the town's local player, Rich, opens a Rec Center, she sees a way to rekindle her dancing dreams...and maybe have a little fun with her sexy new boss.

Rich never expected to fulfill his dreams in the town he planned to leave behind, but that's just what he's doing. His reputation as a noncommittal ladies' man might make it challenging to earn respect in the business world, but he's willing to prove that he's serious. In fact, when it comes to pursuing Roni, he's more than willing. But she's taking a page out of his book, not wanting to risk another relationship. Can he convince her that his playboy days are over and that she can trust him with her heart?

My Rating & Review:

✶✶✶✶

I received a complimentary copy of The Friends & Lovers Trilogy in exchange for an honest review.

I
loved all 3 stories and I especially loved that this compilation had a
bonus chapter for each couple featured in the 3 stories.

Sometimes
I need a quick, light hearted romance and the first story, Make It Last
gave me that. There was just enough angst from Briana regarding her
feelings towards Colin and of course with the ex-girlfriend drama to
make it a believable story - no romance ever goes down without some kind
of issue somewhere!

In I Choose You, I was glad that Kent was
able to move on from his feelings for Briana and I'm glad that Nicole
was willing to give him a chance. These characters also had a
believable story. Kent had found his own way after a tumultuous
childhood with his family life and Nicole had found her own way, not
giving into living her life in the path her parents would have chosen
for her.

Finally, Trust in me. This story was my favorite of the
three. It had a broken girl and a guy willing to stand beside her and
help her move on from her past. My heart broke for Roni for all the
junk she'd been through and I absolutely loved Rich for changing his
playboy ways and giving her the time and space she needed while she
worked out her feelings.

These stories were so well written and
the book flowed easily from each story to the next and most importantly
it followed the same timeline. It involved such a great group of
friends and I loved how each couple kept making appearances as the
stories went along so we could keep track of their relationship's
progression. And I especially loved the bonus chapters at the end for
each couple so we could see what happened a bit down the road.

I
would absolutely recommend this trilogy to anyone who is looking for a
fun, lighthearted romance series which has no cliffhangers or any huge
surprises.